Of Past Times and New Battles
by MusicallyElectrifying
Summary: Amu expected them to return. She knew she would have to face them. Finally, she could see her friends again. And the them again. But how will she break this to the Guardians who had just gotten out of the battle with Easter? They had more people on their side now. But the others are capable of many things. The dark past is finally revealed. And now it is time to face it. AmuXIkuto
1. Memories, memories

Hello there! I hope you enjoy my story. It is my very first one, so I hope you like it. Characters in the story act differently than the anime, and I am sorry for that! It just fits in with the story! Review if you'd like…

Enjoy!

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I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't. But I had to leave. Had to leave for them, for _us. _It was a far away city, I never saw them again after I left. I miss them terribly, my heart aches just thinking about them. It was all because of that stupid team. They forced me to leave. Forced me to leave behind the town I grew up in. Forced to leave the ones I loved the most. The only things they have not taken away are my cherished memories.

Mom and dad didn't know anything about it. They think it was just bad luck, the fact that their bosses replaced them for no reason.

"_You're not as dedicated as you used to be"_

"_It's for the best. Trust me."_

"_It's just not going to work."_

_They didn't know what to do. We were running low on money. Until my friend's parents gave them opportunities. But not here. Somewhere else._

_The day I was dreading soon came. And my heart felt heavy. Seeing the tears in my friend's eyes. All of them. And I can imagine the smirks on the Team's faces. This had been their plan all along. And I was too stupid to realize it. But what did I know? I was 10. They were older than me. Smarter than I was._

_Once I came to Seiyo, all of that seemed to disappear. For a while at least. I met the guardians. Then Easter came along, and battle ensued. I was used to much worse than this. Much, much worse. Since I didn't have my charas back then, I had to use self-defense. So did the rest of my friends, and the Team._

_People think you can get over their past. They couldn't be more wrong. Two and a half years later, and look at where I am now. I still get the nightmares. The cruel nights I spent with that Team. I had to always be on guard. You couldn't rest in that city. It was stupid. I was a child, I shouldn't have spent my time worrying about these things. Sometimes I never want to go back there again. _

_Until now._

_The power is rising, I can feel it. The power that I felt when I was back in the city, and the panic that sometimes came with it. I remember. But this isn't a time to be afraid. No. I'm not going to go back. Because they are already here. And I'm not going down this time._

_Hinamori Amu. That's who I am._

_And I will not lose this battle again._

* * *

Yes, I know it is short, I am working on the chapters. So stay tuned for the actual chapters! Hopefully you will like my story.

Reviews are welcome! x


	2. The Encounter

It was barely past nine in the morning when Hinamori Amu woke up. The sun lit up her room through the balcony. Amu's guardian characters were still sound asleep in the nest. She rubbed her eyes slightly; she was still very tired. She hadn't gotten sleep at all last night.

Slowly, she stood up. She didn't feel like staying in bed today, like she usually did. It was summer, a week before school started. She needed to get some shopping done, to prepare for another year. Except this time it was different, Amu and the guardians would now be moving on to middle school, 7th grade. She was excited to see her friends. Sure, they stayed in touch through cell phones, but didn't get to see each other often. Utau was doing concerts. Rima's home life had gotten more intense. Amu worried about that. Yaya had to baby-sit Tsubasa, (she complained about it every time they were on the phone together). Tadase... well she hadn't exactly gotten over her crush, but she still wasn't sure if she could manage a conversation with him without blushing. Kukai? Soccer practice. The rest, they were busy doing something else... And Ikuto was still searching for his father.

Amu ran a comb through her pink hair, clipping on her X-clips. She put on a white shirt with a pink sweater, white skirt, and pink shoes. She had gotten a bit girlier over the summer. She was happy about that. She tied part of her hair in to a low-side bun. The rest she left there to flow freely.

"Good Morning Amu-chan!" Ran, her cheerleader chara said.

"Good morning Ran!" Amu replied cheerfully, as she grabbed her purse. "Wake the others up, we're going to the mall."

Ran began to poke at the other charas eggs. Su immediately popped out and greeted both of them, but Miki and Dia were still groggy.

"It's too early! And it's _summer!_" Miki yelled, though she wasn't really mad.

"Doesn't matter! Let's go! Get up!" Amu said, and shook Miki and Dia both out of their eggs.

Amu ran down the stairs, to say goodbye to her parents and Ami.

"Okay Amu-chan. Come back soon! We're having ramen today." Her mom said. Amu nodded, and then walked out of the house. It wasn't a long way to the mall, she could manage without having to take the bus. The wind blew at her hair softly, birds flew up in the sky. Her chara began to talk to one another, Amu began humming softly to herself.

There were several stores along the streets, selling clothes, sweets, food. It all looked wonderful. Kids were playing on the side where the grass grew, parents watching them close by and talking to one another. Friends began to gossip.

Amu's heart felt heavy. Not for longing of the Guardians. But longing for her old friends.

At this time she realized that she couldn't make it there walking. It was hot, and she didn't want her hair to get messed up, and for her to be all sweaty. She spotted a bus that was just about to leave, and waved at it while running, signalizing for it not to leave. She got on the nearly empty bus, and took a seat in the back. she brought her knees to her chin, and rested. And thought.

She had been avoiding the thoughts all summer, concentrating on school. But there was no avoiding it now. After all, she had already gotten out of the Easter business. Now her thoughts traveled backwards in time. Wondering if it was all really over. But she knew it wasn't. The power was rising within her, and she could feel that they were coming back. The Team was coming back.

* * *

Once at the mall, her guardian characters immediately took action. They pulled her sleeve in different directions, wanting to go to stores that they thought were good. Amu groaned. It was always like this.

"Let's go to this store! It looks cute!"

"That store is too pink! This on looks better!"

"I think this one look nice, desu."

"Guys! I'm the one that has to get uniforms! Just wait a bit and we'll go where you want to!" Amu finally said. Her charas grumbled but followed her into a store.

Amu began to look through the rackets of clothes, looked through the aisles, searching for the right clothes that were from Seiyo Middle School. They were white shirts, which practically weren't even visible since they had to be covered by a suit, and a green tie. With matching black pants. The same as Kukai's, except girls had the option to wear shorts or pants. They allowed students to add things to their clothes, so for that, Amu would wear a chain on the pants, and something else she wasn't quite sure of. She paid and left.

Amu went to another store, walking around aimlessly, looking at the slightly expensive clothing, and makeup. They were on sale, so why not buy a few things. Her hands reach out for a pair of leggings, and a long blue shirt with designs on it. The makeup, she could just you a bit of blush and mascara.

She paid the cashier and left the store. Now she allowed Ran, Miki, and Su to drag her off. Dia only sat on Amu's shoulder and giggled once in a while. Amu's thoughts drifted to Middle School, and what it would be like. Would it be fun? Boring? Would she get a teacher as clumsy as Nikaido sensei? Oh the joy that would bring...

Her thoughts abruptly stopped when she bumped into someone, and her body hit the cold floor.

"Ow... watch where you're going!" Amu said, annoyed. She heard the person grumble.

"No, watch where," The girl huffed, picking herself up. "You're going!" And then she gasped.

Amu stood there, her mouth agape. It was her. It was _really _her! No, it couldn't be. She couldn't be here, she was supposed to be in the other city, with her other friends. With the Team.

"Miya!" Amu yelled and wrapped her arms around the girl's body. She returned the strong embrace. Miya, was one of her old best friends.

"Amu, I missed you so much!" She cried out. They didn't know how much time they had spent, just holding each other there. It seemed like an eternity when they broke apart.

"Amu, how have you been!?" Miya asked, on the verge of tears.

"I've been fine! How have you and the others been? How is everyone back in the city?" Amu exploded with questions after that, wanting to know absolutely everything. How long had it been? Two years, two and a half? She missed everyone, especially Miya.

Miya reached a bit above Amu's height. Meaning, she hadn't grown a whole lot. Miya had curly brown hair, and coffee brown eyes. Her hair was pulled back with a yellow headband. She wore a white shirt, a yellow vest, and white shorts, and striped stockings. She didn't look that different since she last saw her. Except for the hair. It had grown, a lot.

Miya began to talk about the city, how much it had changed, how many things were knew, like theaters, malls, parks, museums.

"At least now they have more than one mall!" Amu said giggling. She took a seat with Miya at a table; in the food section of the mall.

"Yeah, the mayor finally decided to get one after everyone's complaints." Miya responded, taking a sip of her juice.

"He never really was good."

"Still don't get why they haven't fired him yet." They laughed.

"Takeo misses you. Still a hopeless romantic as always." Miya said with an eye roll.

"Oh come on. Miya. He doesn't like me, he's practically my brother!" Amu countered.

"No. Hiroki's your brother. Takeo is your-" Miya winked. "Boyfriend."

"No he's not! Shut up!" Amu said her face growing red. Miya laughed at this. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Amu! We've been looking for you everywhere!" A frustrated Ran said, flying over.

"Yeah, Amu's bad!" Miki yelled.

"I'm sorry guys, I didn't realize I left you behind! You were all in that store! You should have paid more attention!" Amu defended.

"Who's this, desu?" Su asked, pointing at Miya. Amu suddenly realized that it might seem as if she were talking to nothing but the air, so she quickly turned around. But Miya was looking straight at her charas.

"I think she can see us." Dia said.

"You have charas? So do I!" Miya exclaimed happily. Amu blinked.

"You do?" Amu said.

"Hey, Maki! Come out!" Miya said shaking her purse. An irritated chara soon emerged.

"What?" The chara asked.

"Amu this is Maki. Maki, Amu." Miya introduced. Maki had black hair, with blue and pink streaks in it. She wore a purple dress, with a black jacket, and black leggings. She also wore a black spiked choker.

"Hi, I'm Maki." Maki said.

"Hi I'm Ran! It's nice to meet you!" Ran said shaking Maki's hand. The other charas introduced themselves as well.

"I didn't know you had a chara!" Amu said.

"Yeah I do. Maki." Miya said.

"I represent Miya's dream to become more of a rebel!" Maki explained proudly. Miya waved her hands in front of her.

"No! I mean, she means that I just want to do things I haven't done before!"

"Oh that's nice!" Amu said.

"She's gotten me into a lot of trouble." Miya said with a groan.

"My charas can also get annoying."

"Hey! We're not annoying!" Miki said.

Amu was about to respond, when she felt her phone vibrate. She checked it quickly. _4 missed calls and 2 messages?_

"How-"

"Amu! We've been trying to reach you all day!" Amu turned, and saw a furious Utau, with the Guardians standing behind her.

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Still short, but I promise the chapters will be longer later! What do you think of Miya? Please review!


	3. Trouble trouble

Okay I'm back! Sorry for the delay, this chapter was meant to be posted days ago. I was trying to add more things to it. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story. Rei Star, I think your getting the idea! It's a bit more than that though. And this will be a very long story (I hope so) and I will update every few days hopefully because school starts tomorrow. Aish...

Enjoy!

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"Oh, hey Utau." Amu said, slightly annoyed that she had interrupted her conversation with Miya. She really had no manners at all. And though she was used to it, this time it was different.

"I've called you twice! So has Rima!" Utau yelled frustrated.

"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't hear my phone ringing." Amu grumbled. Wasn't Utau supposed to be performing concerts somewhere?

"Amu-chan, who's your friend? Nagihiko asked.

"Oh, this is Miya. One of my friends." Amu replied. Miya stood up from her chair.

"Hi I'm Miya Sakerura. Amu's best friend." Miya said with a warm smile, though the last words were said with extra sharpness as she stared at Rima. Rima seemed to get annoyed by this.

"Hello Sakerura-san, my name is Hotori Tadase." Tadase said, extending his hand. Miya smiled and shook it gently. Then the other Guardians began to introduce themselves. All except Rima who was staring at Miya intensely.

Amu's thoughts were racing. What was she supposed to say? She didn't think the Guardians would show up here. What if they started asking about her old school? She couldn't tell them… Not now at least.

"Um, I'm going to get some napkins." Amu said and walked off quickly. She needed to think. Of an excuse. A thought suddenly struck her. If Miya was here, did that mean the others were here too? There was no telling what they would do to the Guardians if they found out about them.

Miya didn't like the fact that Amu's friends had interrupted her. Especially since the short blond girl was giving her dirty looks when no one was watching. It made her uncomfortable. She hadn't done anything. Sure she had said that she was Amu's best friend, but that was something that was necessary to say.

They headed towards the table where she and Amu had been seated. But then the blond girl grabbed her arm and pulled Miya back.

"I'm Amu's best friend. Amu's _only_ best friend. I've never seen you before." she said a bit coldly. Miya yanked her arm back.

"Look. I've known Amu longer than any of you have. You-" She stabbed a finger to the girl's chest. "Are not her best friend. Quit being delusional." Miya finished. The girl seemed to get irritated.

"Whatever." She muttered, then walked over and sat down next to… Nagihiko was it? Miya cursed under her breath. Possessive little freak. She hoped the rest of them weren't like her. With the exception of that blond girl, they seemed nice. But it felt was wrong.

Miya grinded her teeth. She expected for Amu not to get friends. But it didn't matter now. What mattered was whether they knew or not. She'd have to confront Amu about it later. She twirled a lock of her brown hair, walked over to the table and took a seat next to Kukai.

She stared at the plain wall. She needed to get Amu alone somehow. Right now she had stalked off. She could go and find her, but decided against it. Amu was probably trying to work things out in her head. After all, Miya had shown up here without warning.

"So how long have you been an acquaintance to a Amu?" Kairi asked. Miya twitched at the word 'acquaintance'.

"Way longer than you people have." Maki, her chara responded from her purse. She flew out and sat on the table. Miya began to panic, until she realized that the others had charas as well.

"I knew I sensed a guardian character presence around her." A princely chara said, coming from behind Tadase. "Hello commoners, I am the great king, Kiseki."

"King? You look like you came out of a fairytale book for 5-year olds." Maki said snickering. Miya glared at her chara and flicked her. Maki winced and gave her owner a side-glace before laughing again.

"I am the ruler of this land! Bow down to me servants!" Kiseki yelled.

"They're not your servants. Shut up before I kick a soccer ball at you." Another chara said. His owner was Kukai. "Yo! I'm Daichi."

"Hi." Maki said plainly. The other charas also came out and introduced themselves to both Miya and Maki.

Miya was getting bored with the introductions. Too many people, though she had most of their names down. And now for that weird short blond haired girl.

"My name is Kusukusu! And my owner is Rima!" The clown chara said happily pointing at her the Rima.

"Your name's Rima then? Couldn't you have said it earlier?" Miya asked mockingly.

"Be quiet." Rima said bluntly. Miya rolled her eyes. She was about to say something, but then she saw Amu walking over with napkins in her hand.

"Sorry about that. And I have to go now." Amu said.

"But we just met up with you! You can't leave us alone!" Yaya whined. Amu groaned.

"I'm sorry, let's hang out another time!" Amu said quickly, then pulled Miya up and walked away in a hurry.

"What is it?" Miya asked. She was glad that Amu had come back; she didn't want to be there anymore. They needed to discuss things. They walked a couple of blocks, and Miya began to grow tired from the walking, so they sat down on a bench near a river. The old city didn't have a river. Miya liked this one.

"Here." Amu handed her a water bottle she kept in her purse. The charas sat down in a rock and talked to one another. Maki seemed to like them, even with the overly-preppy cheerleader one.

"How do you like the Guardians?" Amu asked. Miya furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Long story. It was kind of like a club in school because we all had charas." Miya nodded.

"Well. They don't seem so bad except for Rima. I don't like her." Miya said bluntly, not hiding her disgust for the girl.

"Really? Why?"

"She seems weird."

"How?" Amu asked puzzled. Miya face palmed.

"I thought you would grow out of this oblivious phase."

"I'm not oblivious! Ugh, forget that. Tell me about the Team." Amu said a bit quietly. Miya's stare hardened.

"They're back." Amu grinded her teeth as those words left Miya's mouth. "They came back a over a month ago. Tried to start a fight. They have guardian characters now."

"How powerful?"

"Extremely. But the rest of our group has one now. Akira, Takeo, Hiroki. We haven't seen the leader of the Team though." Miya dug her nails into her palms.

"So now we have to do this again, huh?" Amu asked.

"It's a new beginning. But this time we'll win."

x x x x

Amu had convinced Miya to stay at her house for the night. Miya had declined but when she called her parents, her mom was overjoyed that she had met up with her. So they stayed in her room, watching movies, reading magazines, gossiping, going on Amu's laptop, and chatting about their home town. Amu began to tell her about the battle with Easter, and about Hikaru's heart egg.

It was 11:00. Amu had her music playing, but not too loud so she wouldn't wake her parents and Ami up. Meanwhile she braided Miya's hair. Her soft light brown hair was beautiful, and blended in well with her eyes. Amu wondered if Miya knew just how beautiful she was.

Miya then proceeded into braided Amu's hair. Miya's small hands were gentle, and she seemed careful not to pull too hard on the brush. Amu stared at the wall of her room. She had redecorated it. It was full of Japanese singers, and some Korean bands* as well. Miya seemed to like a band called _Infinite_ the most.

Once Miya finished, they began to sing along to the music playing from their phones. Taylor Swift came on.

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in..._

Amu and Miya used to be in a small group where they would sing. So they didn't sound very bad. Back in the city they used to have small "concerts" and performed in a small building. Nothing big, but a lot of people showed up often.

_So shame on me now..._

Amu remembered one concert that was extra special for them. They were performing in the same building, but this time it was decorated beautifully. The walls were painted a light blue, posters hung up and colorful streamers hanging from the ceiling.

_Flew me to places I've never been..._

They called them "Eternal Revolution." That was what they decided on after much arguing.

_Till you put me down oh..._

It was always a lot of fun. It was a distraction from everything that was going on in their young lives. And maybe, now they might get to relive those cherished memories.

x x x x

Amu woke up and found Miya lying next to her. They had taken sleeping bags from the closet and set them on the floor. She looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was 11:00.

Amu felt drowsy. They had fallen asleep at one in the morning. The charas were still asleep. She felt Miya shift next to her, and she woke up.

"Morning." Miya said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning." Amu responded, then yawned. Miya slowly got up from the floor and stretched. Amu did the same, and started rummaging through her drawers to find something Miya could wear. Miya mainly dressed in girly-casual clothing, so it wasn't really much of a problem. She handed her the clothes and Miya she went to the bathroom. The charas were now up and began to race each other downstairs, to prepare breakfast.

Amu slipped on a white shirt and blue sweater. After she put on black pants. She didn't need to dress fancy because it was Miya, and it was Amu's house. Amu's head was throbbing, and she felt dizzy. She grabbed the edge of her nightstand to keep her balance. Her heart was starting to pound, and she began to panic.

Her chest suddenly started to hurt, something was ripping her apart. Her body hit the ground, and she gasped for air. Her lungs felt like they were being crushed, and like someone was smashing something against her head. She felt hot, but her body was shivering, and she couldn't seemed to move. Something was choking her.

And then it stopped.

All in one last second the pain went away. She coughed, and then she could breathe normally again. Sweat formed underneath her bangs, and the coldness she had felt was now gone. Slowly, she got up and grabbed her nightstand, afraid that the feeling would come back. It didn't.

What the hell was that? She was fine one minute, so why did this happen? Amu began to grow frustrated. It didn't make sense. She didn't have a heart condition, the doctor had told her that she was fine the last time she visited which was three weeks ago.

And then it struck her. There was only one person that had the power to make her feel like this. The Team's Leader. That was it.

Amu felt the door open, and Miya walked out. She looked pale, and her eyes looked worried.

"Did you feel that?" She asked nervously. Amu nodded and began to tense up. They were here. Here, in the place she expected to never see them again.

"We should say home. Just in case." Amu said. She wasn't going to risk going out, and getting attacked. Right now they weren't a whole lot powerful.

They went downstairs to help the charas with breakfast. They made pancakes and poured syrup on top, made juice out of the fruits that were in the kitchen and tossed them in the blender. Then they sat down on the couch in the living room and watched television. Amu's parents weren't home, they went with Ami to some festival that was going on. Amu had refused to go.

"That's unhealthy." Miya stated, watching Amu pour the syrup onto her pancakes.

"Be quiet. What's unhealthy is all of those muffins your eating." Amu replied.

"They're banana muffins. So it's fine. And I'm drinking the juice."

"It doesn't matter if they're banana muffins."

"Oh just shut up."

Amu giggled, and took a bite out of the pancakes. Miya playfully glared at her. They watched cartoons for an hour or so, and went back to Amu's room. They watched music videos, and played movies on it.

"What was that we felt earlier?" Amu asked after a while of thinking. She was trying to avoid asking Miya, but she couldn't help it.

"When you left, about a year later, the Leader made this thing to make us feel that way." Miya responded. "We don't know what it is. We just know it's extremely painful, and the thing he uses takes a while to recharge. So don't expect that feeling for a while. Akira also told me that it only works from a certain range. Which means..."

"That it's positive that they're here." Amu finished. Miya nodded.

"Are the others here?" Amu asked.

"No. They're coming in a few days. We had convinced out parents to move here, though we had to think of excuses. Business isn't doing so well there, so we told them that here they would get better job opportunities." Miya sipped her juice. "They're really excited to see you."

"I am too. But do I have to tell my other friends?"

"That depends. I don't think you should. If they find out, they find out. But don't tell them now."

"I hate keeping secrets from them." Amu said. She didn't like hiding things from the Guardians. They were her closest friends, next to Miya and the rest.

"It won't be for long. I'm sure they'll find out eventually." Miya replied. "Just don't tell that short blond girl.

"Why? She'll find out too along with the rest." Amu said.

"I don't care. I don't like her." Miya muttered. Amu rolled her eyes.

"So what school are you going to?" Amu asked.

"I've applied to pretty much every school they have here. What school do you go to Amu?" Miya asked.

"Well I'm going to Seiyo Middle School. Did you apply there?"

"I'm pretty sure I did." Miya answered. She looked at the computer screen. "Yeah I did."

"That's great! Everyone is going there." Amu said with a smile. Miya grinned.

"Yeah. It is. Though, we can't let our guard down now."

"Don't remind me. Let's finish watching the movie." Amu put the movie on play again. But she didn't pay attention to it. Miya was right, they had to be careful now. If they weren't careful, who knows what would happen? Now came the part, she had to tell her guardian characters. And they weren't going to like this.

x x x x

Miya left around six in the afternoon. Her mom came to pick her up and greeted Amu. Her mom was warm and friendly. She had brown hair like Miya, but she straightened often.

It was quiet in the house. Amu's parents weren't back yet. Amu was sitting in her room, debating or not whether to tell her charas about what was soon coming. Miya had told her do just say it and get it over with, but Amu wasn't so sure. They would start asking too many questions that she couldn't answer, not now.

But finally, she told.

"Guys we have a problem." Amu said. The charas stopped playing, and turned to look at their owner.

"What is it Amu-chan?" Dia asked. Amu took a deep breath.

"We're going to have to battle again."

"What? What are you talking about Amu-chan? We already defeated Easter!" Ran said, waving her pom-poms in the air.

"It's not about Easter. It's about something else."

"Another company?" Miki asked.

"Something like that. It's more of a famous group. Except not all of them are bad." Amu struggled to find the right words to say. "You'll find out more when the time comes. But I just want you to know that soon we're going to have to fight again."

"But how do you know this Amu-chan?" Miki asked.

"Because I used to battle them before you guys were born, and before I came to Seiyo." Amu responded.

"Do the guardians know?" Dia asked quietly.

"No. I'll have to tell them later. But you can't tell anyone this okay?" Amu said. The charas nodded. "We're not alone in this. I have more friends like Miya, that'll come here soon."

Amu's heart pounded. It was time to face it. And to battle again. Only this time, they'll win.

* * *

*= Hehe you might get a lot songs throughout this story, but not too often. I just really like music. I suggest you do listen to K-pop though. I personally think it's awesome.

How was this chapter? It was longer than the last one, and I'm hoping that you enjoyed it!


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